Imaging features of breast cancer molecular subtypes: An Updated Review of the Literature

Abstract

Background: Breast carcinoma is classified in keeping with its morphologic features. As regards the WHO classification, the histopathological kinds of the breast carcinoma; ductal carcinomas, lobular carcinomas, and uncommon kinds, these are associated with particular imaging features, primarily based on every kind. Additionally, predictive biologic markers along with estrogen, progesterone receptors, HER2 receptor status, and Ki-67 may be suitable to sub-classify breast carcinoma into the intrinsic subtypes primarily based totally on gene expression profiling into: Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2+, and Triple Negative. Correlation among the imaging and the molecular subtypes has discovered an enormously circumscribed lesions with posterior acoustic enhancement without calcification inside the triple negative breast cancer subtype, microcalcifications are seen with the HER2+ subtype, but speculated lesions of irregular margin and posterior acoustic shadow with the luminal A and B subtypes, MRI is a longtime supplemental method to mammography and ultrasonography for the assessment of breast lesions. Diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) has lately been incorporated into the breast MRI, moreover dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). Conclusion: Understanding medical collaboration of molecular subtypes and imaging features can assist the radiologist to help the clinician to adjust treatment consistent with the patient condition and tumor characteristics.

Keywords

• breast carcinoma; who; molecular subtypes; dce-mri; dwi